MUSEUM OF JOHN PAUL II MEDALS, COINS OPENS IN POLAND

CZESTOCHOWA, Poland, AUG. 19, 2011 (Zenit.org).- A museum featuring some 5,500 medals and coins with the image of Blessed John Paul II opened Aug. 11 in Czestochowa.

Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, archbishop of Krakow and longtime personal secretary of the Polish Pontiff, led the opening ceremony.

Arturo Mari, known as the photographer of Popes, also attended.

“The museum splendidly serves the memory of John Paul II,” the cardinal said. “It is a great work, which presents the great Pope as a pilgrim of the world. Through this museum, John Paul II will also be with us in a spiritual way.”

Mari spoke with ZENIT about how he personally attended many of the events commemorated by the medals and coins. “It is truly a profound experience,” he said. “It’s very important that this museum is in Czestochowa, in a place so close to John Paul II.”

The museum was founded by the president of President Electronics Poland, Krzysztof Witkowski, as an offering to Mary, Queen of Poland, in gratitude for his recovery from a stroke, and a tribute to the “most famous Pole, Karol Wojtyła.”